The Turning Season: DDR-OBERLIGA REVISITED
Written byMichael Wragg
Published by Pitch Publishing 2020
This is a great read in that it captures you in a journey back to the breaking up of the wall and frontier between the two Germany’s through the 14 football clubs that made up the then DDR-Obeliga. It then whisks you forward to tody and where those teams now fit into a unified German football system.
It is not just about football as it also charts what has happened to the towns, fans and players in the intevening years. It is sad to see that like in some British cities the de-industrialisation has meant a drift to more affluent areas and a feeling of left behind. However the left behind has some times meant new horizons or a longing for the past.
Michael Wragg gets across his own emotions in visiting the 14 grounds and the changes he sees. Of the 14 teams that were in the top East German League none are now in the top Bundeliga, 2 are in the second tier, 5 the third, 5 the fourth, 1 the sixth and 1 as low as the seventh tier. The crowds have also dwindled and the grounds have in some cases fallen away.
This book is a really easy read and when you get to the end you are sad that you have finished it, which tells me it was good.
Thank you Michael I will look out for your next journey.
Payonthegate 